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Sarawak DAP chief today suggested that Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem to use the state's immigration powers to bar Petronas executives and managers from entering the state to break the deadlock on demand for an increase in oil and gas royalty.

Chong Chieng Jen, who is also Kota Sentosa assemblyman, also urged Adenan to cancel work permits of those employed in the offices of Petronas, Malaysia Liquefied Natural Gas (MLNG) and their subsidiary companies in the state.

In urging the state to resort to strong arm tactics against the national oil and gas company, Chong said that the state "needs to use more drastic and harsher means" to push its demands for the increase in royalty.

He said that barring key people from the peninsula, who were running Petronas' operations in the state and kicking out those who were already here, would put "the bite where it hurts".

"This will put a halt to its operation and production," he said, when debating on the governor's address in the state assembly.

Chong said that the barring and cancellation of the work permits should be in place "until the matter is finally sorted out".

"It is better to put a halt to the production than to allow the continuous extraction when we only get 5% royalty.

"After all, if the operation is stopped, the oil and gas will still remain in our soil for future extraction.

"We may suffer temporary loss of part of our revenue, but in long term, there is no loss to Sarawak."

He said that Sarawak had in the past prohibited religious bigots and extremists from entering Sarawak and now should prohibit "robbers plundering our resources" on to the list.

"The chief minister is hitting brick walls on this matter and has to openly seek help of the prime minister so that Petronas will accede to our claim," Chong said, in reference to Adenan's admission last Friday at Petronas' outstanding vendor awards event in Kuching that the state had "not made any improvement" in the royalty negotiation.

Adenan had also said that he would have to speak to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to break the impasse.

Chong retorted by telling Adenan not to be so naïve about the so-called "PM's help".

Petronas, Chong said, is a company controlled by the federal government and "if the prime minister agrees to accede to our demand for the 20% oil and gas royalty, there is no way that Petronas cannot agree to it".

In May last year, the state assembly unanimously agreed to make a request to the federal government to raise the royalty from the current 5% to 20%.

The agreement that was thrashed out was a historic first for the assembly.

With an impasse in talks, Chong said that the state should ditch the "nice and cordial approach" as it is "getting us no way".

I call upon all the people to quickly go to their Tuai Rumah, Ketua Kampong, District Office and most important, the BN elected representatives or BN potential candidates in their respective areas to apply for minor rural project funds and/or social programs fund.

On Friday (24-4-2015), the DUN has just approved an additional allocation of RM500 million for minor rural project and social program fund. This is in additional to the previously approved RM1.2 billion in the 2015 Budget. Therefore, with this additional RM500 million, the total allocation for minor rural project and social programs fund is now RM1.7 billion for the year of 2015.

RM1.7 billion is a lot of money. It can finance 1,700 projects of RM1 million each. Normally, these rural projects will cost in the region of 50,000 each. If we take RM50,000 each project, RM1.7 billion can finance 34,000 such projects. That is for the period of one year only.

If one were to divide this figure by the total number of DUN constituencies in Sarawak, each DUN constituency will each have at least 500 projects of RM50,000 each in year 2015.

For instance, there are about 40 kampongs in Tasik Biru constituencies. Therefore, each kampong in Tasik Biru should get about 12 allocation of RM50,000 each in the year 2015. At present, it will be lucky if each of these kampong gets one allocation of RM50,000 in the whole of 2015 year. Then, where the remaining 90% of the allocation fund goes to?

Peter Nansian, as the elected representative for Tasik Biru and also an assistant minister, has to explain to the people in Tasik Biru. Where has the money for his area gone to?

I am very sure that many of the other constituencies also did not get their fair shares of the allocation.

If the allocation of money truly goes into the minor rural projects, each and every kampong by now, will have the very basic electricity and water supply, tar-sealed road access and even proper community hall for each and every kampong.

If the fund were truly utilised all these years, there will be no need for us DAP to carry out any of the Impian Sarawak projects. The fact that there are still so many kampongs without water and electricity or proper road access is testimony of the leakages and wastages in these minor rural project funds.

Where has the money gone to?

DAP does not oppose to rural development. DAP opposes to the unaccounted spending and corruption in the name of development.

My question to Rundi, out of the initial RM1.2 billion, how much has truly gone into development for the benefit of the people and how much has gone into the pockets of the BN cronies?

Rundi, being the general secretary of BN Sarawak, must give a full account of the projects and money spent for the whole of the initial RM1.2 billion and the additional RM500 million.